Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-08-12

OUR TRIP TO w1sCoNs1N,

OUR TRIP TO WISCONSIN.
taking the stage at Wesslngton
springs the afternoon of the 25th ult.
we reached Woonsocket in good season
Ior the passenger train going north
Heavy clouds were gathering in the
north and as our train sped on, it soon
became evident that a conflict with the
storm-king was close at hand. On we
rushed until within an hours ride OF
Aberdeen when we met The storm in
all Its fury. The intense, darkness
wind, rain and lightning combined tc
make it one of the worst storms We
ever witnessed. Rain fell in torrents
and in less time than it takes to write
1T, the bitches alongside the road were
filled with water, small gram. was flat.
tened to the ground and the whole
country appeared as though visited by
a second deluge. Though. some small
grain was injured, the rain was great
benefit to- the country as a whole, and
would have been gladly welcomed in
the parched regions of Minnesota and
Wisconsin. We: reached st. Paul at
$50 the next morning, where, after a
delay of but an hour. we took the St
Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha line fol
Turtle Lake, Wis, where we arrived at
| 1.3O p. m. y" a:aF
This is numbering region, and the
immense saw mills give employment
to hundreds of men the year 'round.-
Turtle Lake isalso of considerable in.
terest as a railroad towu, having the
Minneapolis, Sault St. Marie and At.
lantic, and the st. Paul Minneapolis &
Omaha r. Rs, the round house and
machine'sheps Of the latter road being
located here. = -:
There had been no rain for four
| weeks, and the woods, grass and under.
brush was very dry. The train was oc.
casionally obliged to run through burn.
ing timber. Sparks from the engine
would often catch in the dry grass and
spread rapidly. People were living in
constant terror from danger of fire. The
dust was two or three inches deep in
the roads, fine as flour and nearly as
white. The morning after our arrival,
however, there came a very welcome
rain, which settled the dust, revived
the vegetable world and frightened up
the landscape wonderfully: About 10
O'clock a. M. we were invited to a seat
on the engine Of a construction train
(there being no regular trains yeti on
the new line of the Minneapolis Sault
St. Marie&Atlantic running west from
Turtle Lake. Here we had a good view
of the eleven mile residency of which
Mr.. Blank has been engineer for the
past six month. The work being COM
pleted here, we found him "at the
'front.', finishing up the estimates on re-
sidency No. g. This country has been
settled for IS or 90 years. and the COM
modious farm houses along the road
show that the farmers have survived
the period Of pioneer poverty and pri-
walton, and are enjoying the comforts
of life. We were very nicely entertain.
ed in the houses of Mr.. and Mrs. Will
son and Mr.. ana Mrs. Sylvester. The
last named have the station of Deronda
located near their house. After very
pleasant visit among the grand old
woods of Wisconsin, we turned our
faces westward, stopped oyer twenty
four hours in Minneapolis, where we
enjoyed the hospitality of D. NJ. Whee-
Ter and family. Mr.. Wheeler is divi-
sion engineer on the $500" road and
one of the most popular men on the
Lime. He is an indefatigabl worker,
| and has accomplished an immense
amount of work in both North and
South America, engineering railroads,
tunnels, bridges, aaueducts, &c. Friday
morning, Aug. 9th, we started home
ward, via the Minneapolis 4 st. Louis,
reached Watertown just at supper time,
registered at the Kampeska House,
which by the way is one Of the best in
Dakota, where everything possible is
done for the comfort of the guests.
Here we said goodbye to Mr.. Blank,
who resumes engineering on the d. W..
& P. road, and came on by way of
Brookings and Wolsey, reaching Woon-
socket on time and the evening freight,
as Josiah Aliens wife would say. All
along the line of the H. s. D. and M. Il
St. Louis, harvesting was rapidly going
on, and nowhere did we see better crops
than in Dakota. Warehouses were re-
ceiving the new wheat, and from sam
pies brought on the train, We find the
plump golden grains are Of excellent
quality, and think Dakota is destined
to take her place, this fall, as the ban
ner estate" Of the Northwest.
No man can sell goods by storing
them in a cellar, locking the door and
hiding himself in an alley. He must
rent a good store, decorate it, advertise